No One Else Will Do But You - Chapter 77

Looking out the window at Jiang Mu’s house next door, it felt so close yet so impossibly far. The weather wasn’t as biting as before, so Shu Luo sat on the balcony in a sweater, sipping a drink and feeling like he was beginning to grow mold from boredom.

“Brother, do you want me to play with you?” Little Shu Yin asked with a mischievous grin.

Shu Luo pinched his cheek. “I’m the one playing with you, kid. What do you even know how to play?”

Sigh. He really was reduced to playing with a toddler who knew nothing of the world.

“Brother, have you seen Garfield? Do you know how he steals milk?” Shu Yin asked.

Shu Luo looked at him, a spark of inspiration lighting up his eyes. This kid was a genius—he finally knew how to contact Jiang Mu. “Do you miss your Brother Mu?”

Shu Yin nodded. “Yeah. He hasn’t come over in a long time.”

“Yin Yin, I can’t go out right now, so I have to ask you to help me.”

Helping! Helping was Shu Yin’s favorite thing to do. “What do you want me to do, Brother?”

“When Mom and Dad aren’t looking, call your Brother Mu.”

Shu Yin bit his finger. “I can’t. Mom will scold me. And the nanny will tell on us.”

Shu Luo smiled. “Don’t you have your tablet? Send him a WeChat message.”

Thus, for the next few days, Shu Luo could be seen “sneaking” around to pick up fallen branches under the trees. When Jiang Mu first received the message, he drove back immediately, but the two could only stand on their respective balconies and stare at each other.

Since the villas were row houses, the balconies were only about two meters apart. Shu Luo’s grand plan involved tying sturdy branches to a laundry pole to create a makeshift bridge for passing notes.

Jiang Mu didn’t quite know how to feel about this low-tech approach. It was hilarious, yet seeing Shu Luo work so hard made his heart melt. That night, he received a note with just two words: Keep fighting.

Jiang Mu chuckled. All that work with a stick just to send me two words. But it showed him Shu Luo’s absolute determination to make this work.

Meanwhile, Shu Luo’s mother was standing her ground. She had kept Shu Luo locked up for over a week, and half the winter break was already gone. He was only allowed to walk on the small patch of grass outside the villa. Eventually, she even confiscated Shu Yin’s tablet under the guise of “encouraging him to study.”

Shu Luo felt like he was rotting. He couldn’t even work on his thesis or check for messages from his supervisor. He had really overplayed his hand this time.

“Ah Mu, I’ve watched you grow up. You’ve always been a role model. You helped Luo Luo become a good student and a good child. But I never imagined you two would choose this. Isn’t being brothers enough?”

Shu Luo’s mother had gone directly to Jiang Mu’s office. Jiang Qin was also present.

“I am serious about him,” Jiang Mu replied.

Shu Luo’s mother had a massive headache. These two had such bright futures—why were they being so foolish? “Qin, did you know about this?”

Jiang Qin shrugged. “I’m open-minded.”

“But there will be no heirs!”

Jiang Mu & Jiang Qin: “…”

Jiang Mu refilled her tea. “He can’t live without me anymore.”

She scoffed. “You’re so confident. Isn’t it that you can’t live without him?”

“That too,” Jiang Mu admitted easily.

She went silent. He answered so quickly she didn’t know how to rebut.

Back at the house, Shu Luo had just finished a “love letter”—the essence of an hour’s worth of romantic labor. He tied the letter to his stick with a thin string and sat on the windowsill.

The wind was strong today, making the letter sway precariously. Don’t fall, don’t fall, he prayed. If it fell, he’d have to go down to get it, and if it blew away, he’d be trapped inside without it. For a better reach, he dangled his legs over the windowsill.

Suddenly, a massive gust of wind blew. The letter slipped! His eyes widened. No way…

“Hey, Brother! What are you doing?”

Shu Yin’s sudden voice behind him made him jerk his head around. His body tilted. The world spun. He instinctively protected his head.

I’m sitting on the windowsill!

He hit the ground legs-first. A tree branch broke his fall slightly, and the grass was soft, but the height was over three meters. He felt his waist and leg shatter.

Shu Yin burst into tears. “Brother! What do I do?! Why did you jump?! HELP!”

Shu Luo couldn’t move, but hearing the kid scream “Why did you jump?” made him want to cry. I didn’t jump! You’re the one who scared me!

A sharp, stabbing pain in his left leg shot to his brain. Cold sweat poured down his face. Someone… help…

When Shu Luo’s mother got the call from the nanny, her face went white. “Madam, it’s terrible! Luo Luo jumped!”

She nearly dropped the phone. It fell to the floor and accidentally hit the speakerphone button. “The driver called an ambulance. Luo Luo is unconscious. The doctor says the family needs to get to the hospital immediately!”

Jiang Mu bolted from his seat, grabbing his coat and rushing out. His heart felt like it had been dropped into an ice cellar; his blood ran cold.

Jiang Qin hugged the distraught mother. “Ah Mu, you go first! We’ll be right behind you!”

“Did he jump because I tried to stop them?” his mother sobbed.

Actually, it was just an accident. But at that moment, nobody knew the truth—not even the “culprit” Shu Yin. Only the innocent, unconscious Shu Luo knew the reality.

When Jiang Mu’s driver, Xiao Fang, was ordered to run red lights, he was stunned. What happened to the boss? In the rearview mirror, he saw Jiang Mu’s eyes were red, his usual calm replaced by a panic he had never seen before.

At the hospital, Jiang Mu sprinted inside. “Shu Luo… which operating room?”

The nurse at the desk froze, blushing at the sight of the handsome man. Jiang Mu’s eyes turned icy. He gripped the counter. “I am asking you a question!”

Terrified, the nurse stammered, “Left… turn left at the end.” She nearly cried. Why is he so handsome but so scary?!

Fifteen minutes later, the rest of the family arrived. “Ah Mu, how is he?” Shu Luo’s father asked. My son is so ill-fated… is he really trying to prove his resolve with his life?

Jiang Mu sat with his head in his hands, shrouded in silence and grief. Finally, the surgeon emerged. Jiang Mu stood up instantly. “How is he?”

“The patient is very lucky,” the doctor said. “The CT scans show a fracture in the left lower leg and some superficial injuries. He protected his head well, but since he’s had a head injury before, he might experience headaches when he wakes up.”

The tension snapped. Jiang Mu whispered, “Thank God.”

Carlos comforted him. “It’s okay, son. Luo Luo is a lucky boy. Don’t you Chinese have a saying? ‘Survival from a great disaster brings great fortune’?”

Jiang Qin slapped Carlos’s back. “Stop using idioms if you don’t know how to use them!”

In the waiting area, Shu Luo’s mother was weeping. “It’s my fault, isn’t it? If I hadn’t forced him, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Everything happens for a reason,” Jiang Qin said softly. “As parents, don’t we just want our children to be happy and healthy?”

“I know, but… he’s gay. What will people say?”

“Ah Mu is a future Earl, yet I chose to let go,” Carlos said suddenly. The Shus looked at him. “He will find a way to convince the Old Earl. He’ll speak with his capabilities.”

Thirty minutes later, Shu Luo was moved to a regular ward. When he opened his eyes and smelled the hospital disinfectant, he sighed. Damn it. This is just great.

Jiang Mu was sitting by the bed, his eyes closed in exhaustion. Shu Luo looked at his handsome, tired face. His hand was being held tightly; the warmth of Jiang Mu’s palm was incredibly comforting.

He tried to shift his position, but his left leg was suspended in a cast. Great, it’s definitely broken.

The movement woke Jiang Mu instantly. “Luo Luo, how do you feel?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Shu Luo said, hearing the desperation in his voice.

“Why were you so foolish?” Jiang Mu sighed, pressing Shu Luo’s cold hand to his cheek.

“Uh… Brother, it was actually an accident. Really. I was trying to send you a love letter, but the wind blew it away. Then the kid came in and scared me, and I forgot I was sitting on the ledge. I lost my balance. Thank god for that tree and the long grass, but my leg hurt so much I blacked out—mmpf!”

Jiang Mu leaned down and silenced him with a fierce, possessive kiss, invading his mouth as if trying to reclaim every part of him. Shu Luo was startled but sensed the man’s lingering fear. He wrapped his arms around Jiang Mu’s neck, melting into the kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, their eyes were hazy with desire.

“You really never give me a moment’s peace,” Jiang Mu whispered.

Shu Luo blinked. “I’m really innocent this time.”

Jiang Mu poured him a glass of water. Shu Luo suddenly remembered his parents. “Did my mom and dad say anything?”

“They think you jumped because they tried to separate us.”

Well, that’s a deep misunderstanding.

“If I were going to commit suicide for love, I’d have to jump from the top of your office building for it to be dramatic enough—”

Jiang Mu’s icy glare cut him off. Shu Luo swallowed hard. That look is too powerful; I can’t handle it.

“Don’t say things like that.”

“I was just using a metaphor!” Shu Luo drank some water, then had a sudden brainwave. “Let’s just play along then. Since it already happened, I’ll play the ‘pitiful’ card. A bit of ‘bitter flesh’ strategy.”

Jiang Mu rubbed his head. “Just rest. I’ll handle it.”

“No, I have to do something. I was planning on faking depression as my ultimate move, but the accident happened first. It’s basically the same thing. Am I a genius or what?”

Seeing that “please praise me” look in Shu Luo’s eyes, Jiang Mu pulled him into a hug. “As long as you are okay, that is everything to me. You don’t need to do anything else. Just stay by my side.”

Shu Luo rested his chin on Jiang Mu’s shoulder. “I can’t do that. I’d feel like a ‘pretty boy’ kept by a sugar daddy.”

“Haha, all my shares are in your name. You’re the one keeping me.”

The sound of that low chuckle made everything feel right. “Is that so? Then call me ‘Husband.'”

Jiang Mu suddenly nibbled on his earlobe, sending a shiver down Shu Luo’s spine. “Hmm? Call who husband?”

Who is the strongest at threatening people? Jiang Mu, obviously.